


When we Draw the Curtains Back

by Tsuki_Amano



Series: Steve Rogers Guide to Superheroes [8]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, minor H/C, normal steve, superhero au, supportive Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 02:58:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4689764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsuki_Amano/pseuds/Tsuki_Amano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Clint gets injured on a mission, Bucky knows it's time to tell Steve. He deserves to know the truth. But he doesn't know how Steve will take it.</p><p>Or the continuation of the Superhero AU that no one asked for featuring Superhero Bucky Barnes and his not-so-clueless boyfriend Steve Rogers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When we Draw the Curtains Back

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read the summary, you've probably got a good idea what this installment is about. Please note the minor depiction of blood and injuries at the beginning of the story and allusion to violence.  
> Also, this story is pre-serum Steve Rogers and WS version Bucky.

**_“Steve, you know there’s something about him right?”_ **

**_“I know Sam, I’m not blind.”_ **

**_“No Steve, I mean, it would be one thing to hide, say an obsession with knitting, but this, he works for Fury. I’ve never heard anything good about them.”_ **

**_“Sam, you’ve heard next to nothing about them. I trust Bucky, with my life.”_ **

**_“You know more about this than you’re letting on don’t you?”_ **

**_“I need to get back to work now ok?”_ **

**_“Just, promise me you’ll be careful.”_ **

* * *

 

Clint’s being carried in on a stretcher and the team medics rush to attach him to an oxygen mask and monitor his vitals. They manage to stabilise him, but he’s pale, so pale that Bucky imagines the bandage around his head is blending into his skin. It’s another ten minutes before they reach base and they can transfer Clint into the Operation Theatre.

A middle aged doctor with a kind face patiently explains the situation to Bucky, but only a few words register, _‘shrapnel, trauma, concussion, lucky to be alive’_

He signs the consent form with a steady hand and the doctor takes an extra second to place his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Son, he’s going to be fine. This man’s a fighter and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure he’s ok.”

Standing outside the room for what seems to be a lifetime, he’s startled when a Styrofoam cup appears in his line of sight. He looks up with a start and finds Natasha standing there.

She’s got dust smeared on her cheek and her lips are raw, like she’d been worrying at them.

Today had been a disaster. They had gone in with less Intel than they needed, and almost lost one of their own as a result. It’s when he watches Natasha tap her fingers on the side of her own cup of coffee, a tuneless rhythm which reveals how worried she is, he realises, he can’t put off telling Steve any longer.

He pushes the proffered cup back at Natasha and smiles wryly. “I’m going to take off, unless you want me to wait for a bit longer.”

She studies him pensively, “Get out of here, before Coulson shows up. Take the fire escape unless you want to run into rest of the medical team.”

Hugging her briefly, he starts to move towards to the fire escape before she calls out, “Say hi to Steve for me.”

Bucky isn’t even surprised that she realises what he’s going to do. If he didn’t know better, he’d have sworn up and down that she could read minds.

It’s one of the longest journeys home he’s ever taken. Deep down, he knows Steve has every right to turn him out or even worse, to leave. And Bucky can’t imagine that. He can’t imagine being at home every day with the memories of their life around him, knowing that Steve had found happiness with someone else.

There are certain people Bucky could live without.

Steve Rogers isn’t one of them.

* * *

 

**_Stark is waiting for him outside the room. He catches his eye and nods towards the corridor._ **

**_“You look about as happy as a child who was told Christmas was cancelled.”_ **

**_Bucky glares at Tony, this wasn’t the time. “How would you feel if you were in my place? If it was Pepper they were telling you to wipe?”_ **

**_Tony stops in front of Bucky and fixes him with a determined look. “It’s very simple. I wouldn’t do it.”_ **

**_“And you don’t think they’d do something if you went against them?”_ **

**_“I honestly find that I couldn’t care less what they think. And if you want to be picky about the details, we may work for them, but Steve, Pepper and our friends and family most certainly don’t.”_ **

**_He must look insane, he’s sure his eyes must have a crazed gleam to them._ **

**_“Can you stop it?”_ **

**_Tony puts on a mock offended look, “Can I stop it? Pal, I built the tech. Leave all the fancy bits to Jarvis and myself. You just get down there and make sure ‘Cap is up to speed on what’s happening.”_ **

**_He walks away before Bucky can say anything else, throwing his arms in the air and muttering, “Can I stop it, he asks. Jarvis, did you get all of that? We’ve got some work to do.”_ **

**_“Hey Tony?”_ **

**_“You rang?”_ **

**_“Cap?”_ **

**_Smirking, Tony says, “You’re not going to tell me that the kid wouldn’t have made a good captain? If we weren’t so worried he’d be knocked over by a strong breeze, I’d have elected him leader already. Anyway, anyone who’s capable of staring down Natasha is fine by me. Now, can we bond and braid our hair later? We do have a time constraint.”_ **

* * *

 

Steve opens the door before he can. From the looks of it, he’s going down to Ms. Carter’s apartment, to help her with her house work.

Bucky stands in front of him, the blood on his shirt is drying and his boots are muddy and when he shifts, they squelch uncomfortably.

Steve breaks the silence first. “Bucky? Why are you standing out there in the dark? I should really ask Mark to help me change the light bulb the next time I see him and…” he stops, sucking in a breath when the light from the apartment falls on Bucky.

He doubts Steve has ever seen him this banged up before.

“Jesus Bucky, what happened? We need to get to the ER, that’s a lot of blood, why are you just standing there? Do you need to sit down, why don’t you sit down, I’ll get a taxi and be back in a minute.”

He grabs Steve’s hand before he can run off, “Steve, I’m fine. It’s not my blood.”

Steve freezes. “Bucky, what happened?”

Sitting down next to him on the sofa, Bucky allows Steve to hold his hands and rub circles soothingly into his skin. He owes Stark, the new prosthetic he’s made for him enables him to ‘feel’ the sensation of touch.

He can’t help but wonder if this is the last time he’ll ever feel Steve’s touch again.

* * *

 

**_“Bucky, what the hell is going on?”_ **

**_“Listen, I don’t have a lot of time ok? But you need to trust me on this. In about five minutes, someone is going to ask you what you remember about today. You need to tell them you remember nothing.”_ **

**_“Bucky, there were aliens. Everyone saw them.”_ **

**_“Not everyone heard Phil shooting them, Steve he knows you heard that. Stevie, please, these people are powerful and they don’t want you involved. So when they ask you, you have to say you don’t remember.”_ **

**_“What about you?”_ **

**_“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”_ **

**_Five minutes and thirty seconds later, when a young bespectacled man asks him what he remembers from today, he stares blankly at him and says, “Nothing.”_ **

**_The man nods approvingly and marks something on a clipboard, “Alright Mr. Rogers, if you’ll just follow me, someone will collect you.”_ **

**_Bucky places his arm on the small of Steve’s back and guides him out of what looks like an abandoned room in the shopping complex. When they’re safely out, Steve hisses, “What the hell just happened back there Bucky?”_ **

**_“Steve, one day I’ll be able to explain the whole thing to you. But right now, even I don’t know the truth about everything. For now, you have to trust that I did the best I could.”_ **

**_Steve looks at Bucky, he can see the tension between his eyebrows and the way his jaw is clenched._ **

**_“I trust you.” And he realizes at that point, that it’s true._ **

**_“Hey Stevie,” Bucky adds as an afterthought, “Let’s call Tony and Pepper over for dinner this weekend. I owe him a big favour.”_ **

* * *

 

He clasps his hands together in front of him and says, “This isn’t easy for me to tell you and I wish I had told you earlier but, Steve, you know the Avengers right?”

“Bucky I think the entire city knows the Avengers.” Steve says drily.

“Steve, work with me,” he pleads, “This is hard enough as it is.”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. Yes, I know them, why?”

“You’ve met the Winter Soldier haven’t you? Well, I am the Winter Soldier.”

He waits for the sharp intake of breath, for the shocked exclamation or for the disbelief. But there is none.

Looking up at Steve, he finds him tugging at his lower lip with his teeth.

Steve notices his expression and says, “I’m sorry, I was supposed to be more surprised wasn’t I? Wait if you tell me again I can try harder.”

His jaw drops, “You knew?”

“Bucky, you guys weren’t exactly subtle! Do you actually know how many Renaissance fairs we’ve had in this city in the last three years? Besides, it’d be pretty weird if Bruce turned green for any other reason besides the fact he was an Avenger.”

He moves closer and leans towards Bucky, touching their foreheads together. “I sort of knew from the moment I met you, you know?”

“Why didn’t you ever say something?”

“For the same reason you never said anything to me, because if someone knew, they could use me to get to you.”

“So, what happens now?”

“Well, for one, you get into the shower. And I’ll need to call the Cleaners again about the sofa. The kind of things they think we’re up to, it’s terrible really but it’s also way too much fun to encourage them. I should probably call Peggy and tell her why I didn’t show up.”

“I mean with us, Stevie, what happens with us?”

“Do you want things to change Buck? You’re still my best guy and nothing in the world is going to change that. I know there are things you can’t tell me and I’m ok with that, as long as you promise me that you won’t keep me in the dark about everything and you won’t put yourself in unnecessary danger.”

Bucky closes his eyes and smiles, “I think can manage that.”

The moment’s broken when Bucky feels his phone vibrate. He pulls out his phone and answers it the moment he sees it’s Natasha.

“Is he ok?” he asks, the events of the day hitting him like a freight train.

“Just got out of surgery, the doctors are saying he’s going to be fine. Listen I hate to ask, but can you keep watch over him for the night. Someone needs to be in the room with Bruce, he needs to get his shoulder reset.”

“Sure thing Nat. Give me about half an hour.”

He catches Steve’s eyes when he’s hanging up.

“Actually, give us about half an hour.”

There’s a pause on the other side of the line.

“Fury’s going to be pissed.”

When Bucky shows up with Steve at the hospital room, where Clint has been shifted to recover, none of the other team members say anything. Tony nods his head at the pair and Thor smiles at them.

Bucky makes to grab an extra plastic chair for Steve, but Steve pushes him down onto the one that’s already available and sits down in his lap.

“I think I’m good here.” He leans his head into Steve’s shoulder and allows himself to smile. Everything’s peaceful before Tony interjects,

“I’d make a dirty joke if I had the energy to.”

* * *

 

***Footnote***

**_“Hey Bucky?”_ **

**_“Yeah doll?”_ **

**_“Thor’s not really from Scandinavia is he?”_ **

**_“Uh, about that…”_ **

 

**_Come say hi! I'm on[tumblr](http://everydayindian.tumblr.com/)_ **

 

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of people noted (correctly) that there was only so long Steve and Bucky could keep hiding the truth from each other. The thing is, to be honest, I had only planned to have maybe two or three chapters to this guide. However this has definitely spiralled beyond that, and I love writing this series which why some of these are a bit more serious.  
> Also, as many people noted, there's no way non-consensual mind-wiping would be okay. I think, given what Bucky's been through, there's no way he would have allowed Steve to under go that.  
> This would have come out a couple of days later, but I'm feeling a little better (Yay) and have my visa interview tomorrow (not so yay).  
> But this won't be the end of this series, not just yet ^^


End file.
